Aion Review

The new MMO soars high.

The MMORPG genre has certainly grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years, with at least two new triple-A titles being launched every year alongside expansions to the successfully established ones. As the market grows, so do the standards by which these games are measured. Players have come to expect features that they have seen in other MMOs, and never mind that these features were released a year after those games were launched. The fact is that they have them now, so these new games had better have them too. Two weeks ago, NCSoft's latest MMORPG Aion launched amid much hype and expectation. By all accounts, the game has so far been living up to these expectations and although the MMO gaming community has proven to be rather fickle in the past, this sustained enthusiasm bodes well for it.

Aion is an MMO that tries to offer something for everyone and succeeds at it, albeit in varying degrees and at different stages. On the surface, you'll find a visually stunning world to adventure in and explore, and this will initially draw the casual PvE gamer. Underneath the pretty wrapping is a familiar layer of elements that MMO gamers have come to expect - questing, skills, crafting, economy, socialization tools - in a highly polished state. At its core both literally and figuratively, is a faction PvP battleground called the Abyss, where gameplay involves Aion's most distinctive feature, the players' ability to fight while flying around on wings. Yet players can only enter the Abyss after they reach level 25 and prior to that, there is hardly any PvP except for suicidal forays into enemy territory. Endgame on the other hand, is focused on PvP, which could be a disappointment for those who don't enjoy it unless more content is introduced by the time they get there. As it is, even before they reach level 20, players may encounter gaps that need to be breached by doing repeatable quests, which indicates a lack of appropriate level content.

Aion is one of the most beautiful MMOs on the market.

The game undoubtedly has one of the most beautiful graphics in any MMORPG I've ever played. The landscapes are simply gorgeous and weather effects are so nicely done you can almost feel the shimmering heat of the desert sun. This has the potential for making exploration one of the best aspects of the game, if only there were more to explore. Unfortunately, the world of Atreia has been sundered and what remains are two small continents separated and held together by a vast aether field. Each continent has only five zones and one capital city and because the two playable races are at war with each other, players can't really explore the other continent. Although the zones do have enough quest content to get you through level 50, progression is rather linear and replayability is limited.

But perhaps it is precisely this compactness that has enabled the developers to create an MMO with trappings that are so well-designed that it almost feels like nit-picking when one finds something to complain about. Crafting, for example, feels like an integral part of the game rather than an afterthought thrown in for those who like doing it. You actually get game experience for crafting and gathering materials and your end products are comparable to rare loot drops so you don't feel like it's a waste of time. The game also allows you to level up your crafting by doing work orders, which is a good alternative to wasting precious materials while learning your craft. Player-to-player trades are made easier by ubiquitous NPC traders, and players can also choose to open a personal store if they don't want to pay trader fees. The biggest complaint players seem to have about the peripheral features has to do with storage management or rather the lack of it. Both personal and guild storage can actually be expanded but at increasingly larger costs, just one of the countless money sinks in the game. Surprisingly enough, the economy seems to work rather well at least for now. So far, I haven't reached a point where I've felt the need to grind in order to get enough money to buy spells or equipment.

Other than the few rough spots where I had to do the repeatable quest grind in order to get to the next level, I find questing rather enjoyable. Quite honestly, I am one of those players who hardly ever read the full quest text, especially if I know that it all boils down to killing ten insert-mob-name-here. In Aion though, you sometimes get clues from the quest giver that you won't find in your log later, so there's more motivation to read. For those who absolutely refuse to do that, the game uses cinematics to emphasize crucial points in the narrative. I think it's one of the best ways to tell a story in an MMO and NCsoft continues to employ the technique rather effectively. Although there are no 6-man dungeons per se, you will find it necessary to group up with others in doing certain quests as they take you to areas populated by stronger mobs. Of course it's quite possible to skip these quests, but you'll be missing out on the fun of MMO group dynamics. Again, there's no reinvention of the wheel there as you will need the traditional tank-healer-DPS combination to get through.

The flight combat adds an interesting element to the game.

Character customization is quite detailed, with sliders and color palettes that let you mold your avatar just the way you want it. All the character models are pretty, perhaps too much so in some cases. Yes, it's quite possible to create a repulsive-looking creature but the majority ultimately go for the garden variety supermodel. Character animations, both in and out of combat, are flashy and fun, although some might find them annoying. Avatars have a mind of their own and when out of combat for more than a few seconds, they start fanning themselves or catching fish with their bare hands or doing something equally unexpected. When you type something in chat that the AI recognizes, your avatar might even surprise you by actually waving, or running around in circles laughing like a lunatic. While I find this amusing, some emotes and combat sounds can be a little over-the-top and rather disturbing.